Two years ago I began thinking about the idea literally: Could we actually start a business at school?

To make a long story short, after researching the market, networking with the players, discussing it with the students, and finally getting approval from the school and district, we launched Mac Lab Media on January 9, 2017.

Less than a week later someone told me about Real World Scholars. Soon thereafter we were accepted into the program (during their first mid-year application window) and I replaced my Rube Goldberg-like edu-solution with Real World Scholar's tested, vetted, 100% legal Ed Corps model. Find more info here.

The ultimate goals, however, have nothing to do with grades. For the Mac Lab, our goal is to become a self-funded learning environment by the 2020/2021 school year. For the students, our goal is to provide the training and experience necessary to launch their own commercial art foundries upon graduation.

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NOTE: All #RethinkHighSchool resources here on the EdEx rely on the concepts expressed in my (re)Imagine blog post. See #RethinkHighSchool: The Series for more information or click this link to find all resources in this series.

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​We have been running a school based business since 2002. Our business is called School House Graphic Products and we specialize in graphic design, vinyl products (signs, car wraps), laser art and engraving, large format printing and CNC router work. The students have been so successful that the program runs year round. The students earn grades during the school year and work as paid interns over the summer. They generate enough funds to be self-sufficient. They have purchased all of their own equipment too! It is amazing what students can do even in a small rural school with a 9-12 high school size of under 60 students total.